Apple Is Streaming MLS Free for St. Patty’s Day Weekend

In what’s undoubtedly another effort to promote MLS Season Pass, Apple and Major League Soccer have teamed up to give everyone a taste of the service this coming weekend.

Every MLS match will be available to stream this Saturday and Sunday, March 16 and 17, on any device that supports Apple’s TV app — no subscription required.

That list of devices stretches far beyond the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV set-top box. It includes many smart TVs, Amazon and Roku streaming devices, Xfinity cable boxes, and popular game consoles. That means you’ll have a hard time finding a media device that can’t stream MLS Season Pass games; there’s even a TV app for Windows users now, but if that doesn’t work, you can always fall back to the browser at tv.apple.com.

As for the games, it’s an action-packed weekend, with 14 matches scheduled. Oddly, the Apple TV app is only showing 13; Saturday evening’s Nashville vs. Charlotte match is missing as of this writing, but there’s still time for it to show up later.

The highlight of the weekend for MLS fans will likely be Saturday’s D.C. vs. Miami match. However, Lionel Messi fans may want to temper their expectations, as Inter Miami coach Gerardo Martino shared earlier today that Messi may still be taking it easy this weekend after a leg injury during last night’s match against Nashville.

I don’t want to take any risks but I imagine that he won’t be available for Saturday’s game. That’s the only thing I can say about it now. We’ll have some tests soon and we’ll see how he feels. Inter Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino, via ESPN

Saturday’s Colorado vs. Seattle match is also being broadcast on Fox, but every other game will be exclusively available on Apple MLS Season Pass.

While MLS Season Pass isn’t broadcasting in 4K, it’s still better than many other streaming services, with full 1080p 60fps HD quality at the same exceptionally high bitrates that Apple TV+ has long been known for. That means you’ll need a decent internet speed — 50Mbps or better — to get a top-notch viewing experience, but it should still scale down to provide a comfortable Netflix-level of quality for those on lower-tier plans.

That’s likely one of the things Apple wants to give Apple fans a taste of this weekend, but with several overlapping matches, there’s also the new multi-view feature for Apple TV 4K owners. This lets you watch up to four games at once, with a couple of different layouts to choose from, so you can stay on top of the action. Saturday evening is a great time to check this feature out if you haven’t experienced it already.

Once St. Patty’s Day is over and all the green beer has been consumed, those who want to continue their MLS Season Pass experience can sign up for a subscription at $14.99/month or $99 for the whole season. Apple TV+ subscribers get a slight discount, dropping those prices to $12.99 and $79, respectively, along with free access to game recaps and other MLS-related content.

Apple is also offering free one-month trials to select customers in the US, so be sure to check your inbox and spam folders to see if you’re eligible.